Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Teach Me

None of us humans have this life thing (namely it's mechanics and philosophies) quite figured out.

Some label themselves a "rookie", admittedly failing at cultural tendencies that come normal to most, and trying to find new ground to stand tall upon. Age or expertise, they seem a little below our culture's standards of achievement.

Others label themselves a "success", progressing measuredly and visibly, climbing up into limitless potential. Their resumes, reputation, and life experiences may adorn the image our culture has crafted for them.

Pride tells us that there isn't much to learn in our lives and from our neighbors. BUT all of us must be teachable if we desire to significantly engage with the world around us and if we desire to create anything holistically good. Sure I can do a triple pirouette, but I cannot strategically organize a bedroom I've lived in for twenty years. Similarly, there's gotta be things in which you excel, maybe unusually so: flying a plane? baking macaroons? living in freedom? and then others in which you fall short. assembling a bookshelf? folding your clothes? believing God is actually there?

Maybe we're all rookies in our own right, to some degree, in an area uniquely unfamiliar to us.

Maybe we're all experts in our own right, to some degree, in an area uniquely well-versed for us.

A teachable nature allows an interchange of knowledge, wisdom, and wonder to happen!

The poor to teach the rich, the accomplished to teach the inexperienced, and vice versa.

An anemone of learning, growing, and being better--more whole. Give us teachable hearts, O God.

To be teachable you must first allow yourself to be seen by others.

Baring your soul, tearing off the facade, showing your true self. It deserves to be seen by others, known by others, and nurtured by others: mind, body, and spirit. Life is only so long: why live in the shadows? What has been hardest for me and vulnerability is the mystery of how others will perceive me. Once I let my pride go, it really doesn't matter what other people think of me. And they see things, good and bad, lovely and unlovely, that I would not have deciphered on my own. And I can learn, grow, and become holistically better because my vulnerable posture allows me to be teachable.

As I see your teachable heart, as you see mine, together we grasp our shared human nature.

This is learning what life means, living in community, loving our neighbor. Reaching a closer conception of what truth is.

So as we become more teachable by humbling ourselves, we learn from those around us and embrace a more holistic view of our world. This enables us to know more deeply the truth that we inherently believe. Let us be a teachable people, just figuring out life together, just walking each other Home.